Working to ensure local councils and highways authorities carry out their statutory rights of way duties. Trail Riding – What Is It ? For the benefit of readers not familiar with the activities of the Trail Riders Fellowship, trail riding is exploring the ancient unsurfaced network of roads. Trail riding can reasonably be described as
‘pony trekking on motorcycles’
We ride only on those routes –
public roads – which we are legally entitled to use, preferring to avoid tarmac surfaces where possible. Because these routes are legally ‘carriageways’, just like tarmac roads, we make sure that our machines are legal too, with number plates, silencers, tax and insurance, just like any other road going machine. The only difference is that our models are usually chosen for lightness and simplicity, and equipped for rough going rather than motorways. Trail riding also tests your ability at map reading and much of the pleasure of the hobby is the careful planning of a route from one point to another, using as many unsurfaced roads as possible. Experience at riding on such ‘Green Roads’ also pays dividends in improving overall riding ability, as you soon appreciate the importance of precise throttle control and careful braking on slippery surfaces. The simple answer to this question is this: on any public carriageway, which is not tarred or concrete. On sealed surfaces, of course, you can also ride your legal motorcycle without breaking the law, but it only really counts as trail riding when you are off-tarmac. Just to be clear, please note that we never say off-road, as the routes we use are roads in every sense, they just don’t always look like roads to the ordinary motorist, or walker.
